In practical terms, this means that Viking no longer develop and sell
traited seeds (such as Roundup Ready soybeans or Genuity SmartStax
corn). Instead, Albert Lea Seed will
be supplying them through NorthStar Genetics. You'll still be able to
get everything you need from Albert Lea Seed, but all our traited seed
will come in a NorthStar bag. If
you need traited seed, you'll have the benefit of NorthStar's reach,
expertise and expanded choices--as in more maturities and traits (think
LibertyLink soybeans and Roundup
Ready 2 Xtend soybeans).

Who is NorthStar?NorthStar is, like us, an independent farm seed company based
in Minnesota. They have licenses for traits and genetics from all the
major companies. We've known them for as
long as they've been in business (some 20 years). In fact, the first
Roundup Ready soybeans we carried were in a NorthStar bag. This new
partnership will be a continuation of
work we've done with them, which means Albert Lea Seed will have a role
in product development. In other words, we'll still be bringing you
trait and genetic combinations that
are specially selected for Southern Minnesota, Northern Iowa and Western
Wisconsin. In fact, we will still be carrying most of your favorite
hybrids!Focusing on What We Know BestThe reason for the change is simple: It's time for us to focus
on what we know best, which is developing, testing and supplying
non-traited seed. For a decade, the fastest-growing part of
Viking and Albert Lea Seed has been conventional non-GMO and Organic
seed. We support all streams of agriculture, but we don't have the
resources to develop traited seed and
compete with Syngenta, Monsanto and Dow/DuPont. But we do have the
resources and the passion to develop and deliver the best conventional
non-GMO hybrids, varieties and
innovation to those farmers that need them.

Making the Most of Our Team's ExperienceWhat's not changing is our ownership or our
team. You'll still be working with the same folks. They know their stuff
and they've been in the business a long time--some of them for decades.

Moving ForwardAs we make this transition over the next few months,
we'll keep you in the loop. In the meantime, if you have questions,
don't hesitate to reach out. We sincerely appreciate your
business and look forward to working with you for years to come.